DISCLAIMER: I do not own Summerland! because IF I DID it would still be on the air for goodness sake!!!!!!! I DO own the Colemans and their story.
froggy2045: Yes, but Correcting myself it was you and Mary (xoCaliBabiox) not StrawberryCheeseCak3, sorry! Anyway, yah, I know he wouldn't do that out in public more than likely and no, he wouldn't because he's MINE!!!! MHAHAHA... cough, cough... Anyway, thank you so much for reading/reviewing!!! It means so much!!! Wow! Really? That's awesome though, It means my stories are real:D
kandykane33: Hey! I am so happy to see that you're still reading! Oh... I've kill him before you know... lol! Here's an update with the answer to whether he dies or not so... hope you like it!
StrawberryCheeseCak3: THANK YOU!!!! I AM SO GLAD YOU LIKED- why are we writing in CAPS? Lol! I am so glad you liked it!!! Oops! I see that now! Corrected myself at the top... lol! Sorry! I hope you like what I've done with this!!!
justthegirl07: Hey! Glad to see you're still reading! Thanks for reading/reviewing! I'm so glad you love it! Hope you love this one too!
XoCaliBabiox: he, he... sorry, ok so I hope you like this one! It's not too cliffy at the end for a change! Lol! REALLY!? I am honored:) Thank you for reading/reviewing, Mary1 (May I call you that?)
Krissy: And kill her they would! Lol! JK! I would kill her... just... hurt her a little bit... wink Anyway, ooooooh!! You evil girl!! Lol! I emailed you about the concert. Thank you so much for reading/reviewing! It means so much!!! He, he... well... this should answer your BRADIN DON'T DIE ON ME NOW question! Lol! Hope you like what I did with this! Lol! Yeah? I was aiming for OMG!! JERRY'S IN THE CORNER WITH A KNIFE!!!!!!!!!! But creepy'll work! ;P
Bj: Yes, about six I believe... may make it a little longer just to wrap everything up in a nice sorta neat way. Lol! Hope you like! Ahhh! No, not that darned puppy face again! curses under breath Here's an update... lol! I hope you enjoy it!
Varinia: Thank you!!! I hope you enjoy this!!!!!! And I'm glad it's unique and filled with surprises:D
Candace Storms: Thank you for reading/reviewing! Here's the answer to whether I'm killing Brae or not... hope you like it:) WARNING: it gets a little crazy for a minute.. lol! And thanks for the vote!
Okay, I got two people saying I should do the "thank yous" at the beginning and one saying I should PM them but beginning wins. :) Thanks for voting, y'all! It really helps me to know what my readers like!
Chapter XXIX
Close Call
Bradin's eyes fluttered open, where was he? It took him no time to realize he was in a car as it jolted into the air going over a pothole. He didn't want to think about who was driving the car and he didn't want to think about where he might be taking him. Nor did he want to think about the fact that his arm was still bleeding along with his hand, where he had hit the knife, and now, his head, he was sure. He put his right hand to the back of his head and, though it was already bloody, it came back worse. Yep, bleeding… "Uh!" Bradin groaned as he was thrown to the floorboard of the car as it came to a, very sudden, complete stop.
"Awake, 'eh? Well, we'll see how long that lasts!" Jerry Brown's voice caused Bradin's stomach to turn to knots and his heart to race. The man was, without a doubt, insane.
He leapt out of the car, opened the back door and jerked Bradin to the ground by his, already injured, arm. He, involuntarily let out a cry of pain. This made Jerry grin even more and tighten his grip on the teen's bleeding arm.
Bradin clenched his jaw against the pain that tore through his body, this was ridiculous!
All but dragging Bradin, Jerry made his way up to where he wanted to be. The very top of Hollinger's Point. From there he could do what he wanted with Bradin, then throw him over the cliff into his watery grave below.
Bradin only now got wind of what Jerry was planning as he was pushed harshly to his knees, facing the view of water and moonlight over the Pacific. "Hey, what are you-" Jerry cut Bradin off by pushing him, face forward, into the dirt.
"Shut up!" he ordered, "Now take off your shirt!"
Bradin's heart beat faster, if that was possible, and sweat covered his face. He couldn't let this happen again! He couldn't! The memories flashed, all too vividly, before his eyes and tears, of shear terror, threatened to fall.
"Didn't you hear me? Take off your shirt, now!" Jerry jerked Bradin back to his knees by his injured arm. Bradin bit his lip so hard that blood seeped from it. He still made no attempt to remove his shirt.
"I said; now!" Jerry barked. He hit Bradin in the back of the head. Pain shot through the teenage boy's body. He didn't move.
"Alright, then I'll do it!" Jerry hissed. He pulled the boy's shirt off, grabbed him by both arms and slung him backward so that he was laying on his back. "Now, you wanna guess what happens next, pretty boy?"
Bradin cringed. Disgusted, helpless and in terrible pain, he shut his eyes.
"Boy, you better watch what I'm going to do to you!!"
Bradin opened his eyes, this guy was sick. "Why? Why the hell should I watch what you're about to do to me!? WHY!?" Bradin screamed, tears now cascading from his eyes and down the sides of his face into his, normally sandy blonde, crimson soaked hair.
Jerry stopped. He seemed to have no answer for this. After a minute he looked down at the boy, his evil grin had reappeared and he was unbuckling his belt.
The knot in Bradin's stomach tightened.
Jerry pulled the belt through all its loops and held it in his right hand, the metal buckle hanging half way to the ground. The grin on his face only got bigger, eviler, as he lashed the leather through the air at nothing, making it crack in the wind.
Bradin resisted the urge to try and get away. He knew he'd never make it and it would only make Jerry angrier and give him more pleasure in what he was going to do. Something clicked suddenly, Jerry might not be planning on "touching" him again! He might be going to-
The thought was cut off with the reality. Jerry's belt came crashing down across Bradin's bare chest. He flinched. Jerry jerked him to his feet, "Alright, boy, maybe this time you'll realize that you should respect me!"
What the hell was he talking about? Bradin's knees hit the ground and the belt crashed over his back. Pain coursed through his entire body as the belt crashed again. After three more such blows Bradin fell on his face. The pain in his head had become a constant, relentless throb and the pain in his left arm prevented him from leaning on it, leaving everything up to his right arm which had a deep cut in the hand. And now his back… His eyelids fell shut and a peaceful, swirling blackness took over him.
When he awoke he was laying on his back, his shirt thrown over his body, and Jerry was standing over him. "Come on, kid, I've had my fun, now the game's over!" Jerry said it as if it were an every day chore.
Bradin's eyes widened, "What do you mean you've 'had your fun'?" he hoped so bad he didn't mean what he knew he did.
"You know what I mean! And damn, you're not as much fun when you're not struggling!" Jerry laughed a sick laugh. "Now come on, get up and put your shirt back on, I already did you the favor of your pants!" He laughed a deep, sickening, chuckle.
When Bradin didn't move Jerry reached down and jerked him to his feet. He stumbled but Jerry had his arm and kept him up. The older man grabbed Bradin's shirt from the ground a shoved it at him, "Put it on." He commanded.
Bradin obeyed, though his whole body ached.
"Now, get your ass over here," Jerry called. He was standing near the edge of the cliff.
Bradin hesitated but saw Jerry beginning to march back towards him so he hurried to where the man in his 30s stood.
Jerry grabbed Bradin's arm and led him to the edge, "Tell me, Bradin, this how you pictured you'd go out?"
Bradin gulped, "I…" he couldn't think of anything to say. Truth was, he'd never really thought about how he wanted to go… he tried not to think about going at all... after his parents' death.
"Well, then, is this okay?" Jerry asked this as if he were holding up a pair of jeans for the teen to choose.
Bradin couldn't speak. The water below was calm and cool, a small mist floated up from it a few feet then stopped. It was beautiful really but the prospect of tumbling over the side of the cliff, 30 feet in the air, onto the large, pointed, gray rocks below was not. It was an ugly seen, gruesome even.
"Oh, come on! You must have thought about dying at some point! How did you picture it?" Jerry pressed the subject.
"I… I didn't, I mean, I-" Bradin couldn't finish his sentence, the water mixed with the thought that he might be about to die made him think of one thing; his parents. Their death was caused by water… Ironic he should go the same way.
"Forget it! Stupid little coward…" Jerry tightened his hold on Bradin's right arm, which had quit bleeding for the most part, and turned him around to face him, "Now, as any good friend should do, I wish you well in the 'after life!!'" Jerry's deep chuckle echoed in Bradin's ears too loudly. He felt himself falling, falling… "No!" his scream echoed in the still air of the dark night... sending shivers up the tree's spines.
Suddenly he grabbed Jerry's hand. He shook it off, cursing. But the second that Bradin had hold of it was enough to pull himself back to safety. He kneeled on the dirt and grass, his breath coming in short gasps, his heart pounding so hard it hurt, his life flashing again and again before his eyes.
"What!? Why, you little…" Jerry growled as he realized Bradin had saved himself. "Maybe I should just kill you hands on!"
Bradin somersaulted into Jerry sending him backwards several feet. He landed on his back and Bradin sprung up. Powered by adrenaline, the teen charged Jerry as he stood. The older man grunted and fell back to the ground. Bradin stood, unsure of his next move, should he try to run for it or stay and make sure Jerry didn't get back up? The decision was made for him as Jerry kicked the boy's feet out from under him sending him stumbling forward onto Jerry. Jerry pushed Bradin off of him onto his back and straddled him, hitting him in the face.
Bradin wished more than anything that his hand wasn't torn to pieces right then so he could hit him back! He pulled his head up in between a hit and crashed it into Jerry's nose. The man's hands both shot up to his face as he screamed in pain. Bradin tried to free himself but Jerry was mad now, deathly mad. His eyes flared in rage and he pulled his hand back and brought it down so hard it made Bradin see stars. Blood trickled from his right temple and his head spun. Jerry's hand went back up and just before it hit Bradin again a voice startled them both, making them turn their heads toward the direction of the trail on which they had taken to come to the clearing on Hollinger's Point.
"Stop! The voice repeated. Bradin couldn't see the face but he knew the voice: Jay Robertson.
"Make me!" Jerry called back. Though he sounded sure of himself Bradin saw fear flash over his face. He took this moment to slip from Jerry's hold and roll away. After succeeding in this he went to stand but found that to not be such a good idea. Jerry rushed to where Bradin was and jerked him to his feet. He held the boy close and pointed a pistol at Bradin's head. Bradin wondered where he'd gotten that all of a sudden or why he hadn't used it earlier.
"Don't you get one step closer or it's curtains for this kid!" Jerry jerked Bradin closer to him, the hold on his left arm so tight blood, again, gushed from his earlier wound.
Jay stopped in his tracks. The moon was full and in the dim light Bradin could make out several other figures but no specific details to tell him who the figures were.
"Listen, Jerry... put the gun down and we can talk this through..." Susannah's voice broke through the silence.
"Ha! You'll send me to prison! I can't let you do that!" Jerry was clearly in fear now.
"No... we won't... just let Bradin go..." Susannah was trying her best to be calming but Jerry just got angrier.
"My ass you won't!" He yelled, then, as if the mention of his name had reminded him, he pushed Bradin to his knees and snatched his belt from where it hung over his shoulder. "Now, if you have any doubts that I won't hurt this bastard, think again!" He swung the belt down and it landed perfectly on one of the earlier wounds to Bradin's back. He cringed and dropped lower on his right arm, dirt was mixed with the blood from his cut and was, no doubt, deeply in the wound by now but that could be cleaned and he'd live. A bullet in his side probably wouldn't be the same way. He gasped for air, suddenly everything began to spin but then it stopped. The dizziness had passed and he was still there, waiting for Jerry to make a move.
"Jerry, please, just listen..." Ava barely had the words out when Jerry screamed, "No, you listen! All of you listen and listen good! I hate Bradin Westerly! He's a bastard and he knows it! He should die! Really, I'm doing you a favor by killing him! Now, if we all just shut our eyes we won't have any witnesses and if we don't shut our eyes we'll have to follow Bradin to dreamland… for good!" With that he aimed the pistol directly at Bradin's head and cocked it. The sound of a bullet being prepared to fire echoed in the empty clearing, drowning out the roar of the ocean below.
Bradin looked up at Jerry. The man's face was nothing but rage. He lowered his gaze and, just as a shot rang out, his head hit the ground.
Nikki was the first to release an ear splitting scream followed almost instantly by a perfect sync of two; Susannah's and Teresa's. Ava fainted. Johnny rushed to her side. Jerry dropped the gun, his hands shaking wildly, his eyes huge, full of fear. What had he just done!?
"Damn you!" Jay screamed and ran straight for Jerry. He knocked the man to the ground with such force that he slid several feet. Jay knelt beside Bradin and felt his heart nearly jump out of his chest. Bradin was still breathing! He turned the teen onto his back and let out his breath, yelling, "He's alive! He's okay! He didn't get hit! He's okay, he's okay…"
Nikki dropped to her knees and Susannah's eyes fell shut as she lifted her face to the sky, silently thanking God. Johnny dropped his face as his heart started beating again. Ava, who had revived but still lay on the ground, clutched Johnny's hand until she was sure he could no longer feel it. Teresa rushed to Nikki's side and dropped to her knees beside the trembling girl, wrapping her arms around her as she let tears fall from her eyes. He's alive! No two words had ever sounded so good to her ears as those did.
"He's okay..." Jay repeated to himself just as Bradin's eyes fluttered open. "You alright, man?" Jay asked, his voice filled with concern.
"Yeah… I think so…" Bradin's voice was low and sounded weak but he pulled himself up on his elbows and looked straight ahead. Jerry was in the process of standing up and his eyes met the teen's in a dead-lock stare.
Jay looked from one to the other and realized this must be an I'm-gonna-finish-you-off type of thing. "Brea..." he started but Bradin cut him off as he jumped to his feet, a new fire burning in his eyes. "Bastard!" he screamed. He was near enough to Jerry now that he could hit him in the face. "How dare you!?" he was now within inches of the man who had hurt him so deeply. "You know what? I just remembered something I didn't get you for!! I don't think you know I know this but I do! You son of a bitch!" Bradin was still walking as Jerry was backing up with almost every word Bradin uttered. They were now standing about 6 feet from the edge of the cliff where, only minutes before, Jerry had tried to kill Bradin. "You know what I told you?" Five feet remained in the gap between the two men and the edge of the cliff. "I told you if you so much as laid one finger on her-" Bradin stopped suddenly. He stood in front of Jerry and did nothing, said nothing. He had never seen a look of such fear. He didn't twitch, Jerry matched his standstill then, without warning, Jerry turned abruptly and, with three quick strides, fell over the side of the cliff, his scream echoing in the night air. The crash of bones cracking and 160 some odd pounds hitting the deadly waters below reached the ears of the group on the top of Hollinger's Point. Everyone cringed.
Bradin dropped to his knees, pain over taking the last ounces of strength in his worn body, slid to the ground on one hand and let his head hit the soft dirt and grass.
Well... there it is. The fate of Jerry Brown has been decided. What do y'all think? HONESTLY! REVIEW please!!!!! Thank you!!!
Anna Christie AKA SecondStarToTheRight15